Swallowed by Hollywood
by the-never-ender
Summary: Mariz Cervantes hits an all time low when she is forced to work with one of the most controversial bands in the business...
1. Had Me Chasing Down Red Carpets

**Before reading this story, I just want to say that the celebrities that are mentioned throughout the whole story are not mine. The way they are portrayed in the story is (maybe) false and the events that happened involving them are somewhat false. Some incidents are true, but many are false allegations. I just want to say this before someone might be offended by this. **

I ran down the red carpet as fast I could.

There he was (or maybe a she that turned into a he) lying down on his back, in pain and wasn't able to get up.

I grabbed on to his hand to help him up, but there was no use. He was pissed at the only person that could never cause this to happen at all: me.

Personal assistants always got the short end of the stick. They always get blamed for everything. Here I was getting blamed for letting my client, who has a mind of his own, skateboard down the red carpet just to get attention and fell on his ass. Photographers were having a field day out of this and in 24 hours, his wiped out ass would be in the cover of every teeny bopper magazine. I needed to make damage control.

I called every magazine on the planet (or at least in the United States) to stop the pictures from ever getting published. I tried to make some negotiations, but all of them except one, refused to not publish the photos. The one that agreed was _Tiger Beat_. Boy was I screwed. This certain client of mine was very famous. It was the song "One Time" that catapulted him to the top and he had this squeaky clean image that made any pubescent girl freak out. Now, he was in full embarrassment mode and he was angry at me.

"Why did you let me skate?" Justin Beiber yelled as we were walking in the club.

I glared at him. "You're 16 for crying out loud! You should know you're limits. I don't have to be your babysitter all the time."

"So you're calling me a baby?"

I rolled my eyes. "Stop being so overly dramatic and yes, I am calling you a baby."

His eyes narrowed. "No one is allowed to call me that."

"Except your mommy?"

He looked like he was going to blow. "Mom! Mariz is calling me a baby!" he called his mom.

His mom came over giving me a defiant stare, but that didn't scare me.

"You know what," I threw my planner on the floor. "I've had it with this industry," I walked out of the club, leaving Justin speechless.

Pretty much every client the company assigned me was Disney/child stars. My very first client was a small town country girl named Miley Cyrus. She was alright at first, but then she became more a diva when her show became more popular. I also had to do damage control when there were pictures of her with only a bra on and that infamous _Vanity Fair _photo. She fired me for giving her cold water instead of room temperature water. Luckily I got fired just in time since she "can't be tamed" now. That would be hard keeping her rep spotless.

My other client was Demi Lovato. She might look sweet in those Disney channel shows, but she was a whiner and a wild child. When she did an interview for this Seattle radio station, she treated the radio hosts like crap and that was the first time they met her. Not exactly a good first impression. Then there was this viral video that came out with her "dirty dancing" with the lead singer of All Time Low at a 3Oh!3 concert. I wasn't sure what she was trying to prove.

Those were the few of many clients I had and I was through with it. I was only 21 years old. I could be rocking out at a concert right now, but I was here, walking alone in the streets of Los Angeles, adding Justin Bieber to my long list of clients I've worked with.

I knew Craig, my boss was not going to be happy with this since Justin was one of the bigger clients we had in the company and I ruined it. What was the use now? I've worked with many people and now I needed to take a break. I was tired of being at the red carpets, making sure the celebrity I was working with looked good and they weren't embarrassing themselves.

I did my contribution to this business and I've had it.

**Thanks for reading!**


	2. We've Got a Big Big Mess On Our Hands

I handed my resignation paper to Craig. He didn't bother to read it.

"I'm giving you new clients, Mariz" Craig began but I cut him off.

"What?" I stared at him in disbelief. "I just lost one of our big clients here and now you're telling me that I have new clients? How come you're not firing me or accepting my resignation?"

"To answer your question, I was upset that you surrendered and gave up, but I realized that after working with you for two years, the whole child star thing is not really your cup of tea. I imagine you working with musicians, bands specifically."

"Bands, huh? Well, I honestly don't plan to work with bands any time soon, either," I replied.

Craig opened up a folder. "I'll just give you the clients that you maybe are working with," he handed me the folder. It was the band All Time Low. I recognized the lead singer since he was assumingly the one grinding it with Demi. I had to admit, they were good looking dudes, but I heard through the grapevine that they were known to torture their assistants. That was good to know. "I'll give you a raise if you work with them until their tour and you can choose if you want to stay."

"Why do you want me to stay here?"

"You're a good employee and besides, if I give this job to someone else, they might not be able to handle it."

I placed the folder on the table. "So you're saying I'm able to handle this?"

He nodded. "Besides, if you didn't want to work with this band, it's too late," he gave me a planner and a list of contacts. "Today is your first day of the job with them."

I was startled. "What? I'm working with them today?"

"They need an assistant and since you didn't come here early enough, I told them you were their assistant. You were the only one available."

I sighed. "Alright, I'll work with them," I stood up with a brand new planner and contact list in hand. "Wish me luck," I said sarcastically.

Craig laughed. "Don't worry, you'll be fine," he handed me the address to where the band was going to meet up. "They are going to have a photo shoot there."

I nodded and walked out of the office. This was not really how I planned my day out. Why was I such a pushover? I could've walked out of here with joy, but instead here I was going to be a babysitter to a bunch of 20-somethings who were probably going to be more immature than the younger kids I had to work with, plus they were known to torture people like me.

I went in my car and headed to the venue where their photo shoot was going to take place. I checked the time. It was 9-o'clock so it was going to be a really long day. Photo shoots took forever to finish, but it was interesting. I loved how the photographer was in charge of everything and got to chose how to arrange it. It was very artsy.

I got off my car and walked inside the venue. The band was gathered in a circle making fart jokes. What the hell did I get myself into?

The lead singer saw me first and smirked. He said something to the other guys and then walked up to me. The rest of them followed.

"You must be our new personal assistant!" the lead singer exclaimed. "I'm Alex and the people behind me are Jack, Rian and Zack. What's your name?"

"I'm Mariz," I replied.

"Can I call you Rizzy?" Jack asked randomly.

"Wow, I haven't been called that since I was five."

"Well now I'm calling you that!" he jumped over and carried me. He spun me around. I was not expecting this. "We're going to have so much fun, Rizzy!" Oh dear…

Jack set me down and I ended up getting a headache. "Sorry about that," Zack explained. "Jack's a little crazy, but you'll get use to him," he smiled.

"That's fine," I smiled back. "Well, we should get ready for your guys' photo shoot," I announced.

"I want to be naked," Alex commented.

"Me, too," Jack chimed in. "We should all be naked," he glanced over at me and winked.

"So you guys want to be naked in the photo shoot?" I raised an eyebrow. "That's interesting. Maybe you should talk to the photographer to confirm it."

"It's alright," the photographer called behind me. "They can be in their underwear."

I was shocked. "Wait. Is this shooting for playgirl because you guys are not shedding your clothes?"

"Too late," Rian replied as he pointed to Jack who was butt naked, running around the studio.

"Jack!" I yelled but soon enough Alex ran around naked, too. "You guys!" They ignored me. I turned to Rian and Zack who were quietly laughing to themselves. I pushed my glasses up and ran towards Jack. "Put your clothes on!"

"No," Jack replied.

"Yes you will," I asserted.

"I said no!" Jack started swinging his you know what in my face and ran off laughing.

Was this really happening? It was only five minutes into my job and it almost felt like I was going to rip my hair off.

"Calm down your people!" the photographer demanded.

"I can't!" I yelled hopelessly.

Why did Craig think I was able to handle this?

**Yep, another ATL fic. I know All Time Low has this whole "rock star" attitude going on, but like I said before. The way the bands/celebs that are mentioned throughout the whole story is false, from the way I see it at least. Thanks for reading!**


	3. Picture Perfect Doesn't Mean Much To Me

"Were you able to quit your job?" Shaun, my boyfriend, asked as we were watching a re-run of _Family Guy _on television.

"No," I sighed. "Instead, Craig gave me new clients. They're a band called All Time Low."

Shaun's eyes widened. "Seriously! Dude, they are an awesome band. I can't believe that you're their personal assistant."

"Well dude, I can't believe I'm sticking with the plan that I will be their personal assistant. They gave me a hard time during their photos shoot and they were all naked for it," his eyebrows furrowed. "Okay, they were wearing their underwear, but still," Shaun sighed in relief. "The photo shoot was for some teen magazine. Which parent in their right mind let their daughter like that band?"

"A really awesome parent," I glared. "Alright, alright, I get what you mean, but you don't know what kind of band they are. They are like this year's Blink 182. They do crazy antics, they like being naked and say sex jokes every five minutes," Shaun paused. "Hold on, why am I letting you work with these dudes?"

I rolled my eyes. "It doesn't matter. Craig assigned me to them and if I quit now, I won't get a raise. I guess I'll bear with it," I changed the channel to some gossip news and saw Justin Bieber headlining. Oh shit…

"Justin Bieber probably shouldn't pursue a career in skateboarding after this wipe out," the footage showed Justin skateboarding down the red carpet and then losing his balance. He almost did some kind of flip before planting his ass on the ground. "What an embarrassment?" the announcer said. "In other news, pop-punk band All Time Low did a risqué photo shoot for _Pop Star _magazine, showing off every inch of skin except for their frontal area," my jaw dropped. The footage they showed was Alex and Jack prancing around naked while I was trying to stop them. "This magazine is letting a bunch of naked guys pose for a teen magazine. What has our world gotten to today? These guys think being crazy is a good thing. It is not. It's…"

I closed the television and turned to Shaun. He was laughing. "I love those guys," I stood up and walked out of the living room. "What?" he called out.

"Nothing," I replied flatly. "I just know I have to take some responsibility of this."

Shaun followed me into the bedroom. "It's only your job to take care of their every need, not be their babysitter."

"But that's what an assistant is all about. You have to be a babysitter, especially if you have a group of immature clients who can't be responsible," I jumped on the bed. "I just know I have to do something in order to control these guys."

Shaun sat on the bed. "You can't change a person for your own liking."

"I can, if I want to keep my job."

"Your job will be in jeopardy if you do that."

"This is only the first day with them and I'm stressed out already. Why the hell did I accept this job?"

"You probably like the band because they were good-looking. That's why you decided to get the job."

I got up from the bed. "You're right. The looks reeled me in."

Shaun crossed his arms. "Hopefully I don't kick one of their asses if they try to hit on you."

"They'll only torture me," he raised an eyebrow. "So I'll surrender," Shaun sighed in relief.

"Just relax and be thankful that you're not attached to a bratty kid the whole day."

"Yeah," I rested my head on Shaun's shoulder. "Maybe I'm just overwhelmed and I just need some time to adjust."

**Sorry for the long update! I'll write the next chapter as soon as possible! Thanks for reading!**


	4. You Check Labels More Than the FCC

"Don't hump the tree!" I yelled at Jack while Zack, Rian and I were waiting outside for Alex. Their record label planned a meeting for the band to talk about the controversial photo shoot. "Why the hell is he humping that tree?" I asked Rian.

He shrugged. "He cares about the environment?"

I sighed and pulled Jack off the tree. "Why don't you do that in the privacy of your home where people won't see you," I gestured at a group of people who were recording the scenery from their cell phones. "You don't want to end up on the gossip news again."

"Wait," Jack raised an eyebrow. "We were on television?"

"Yeah, don't you guys watch the gossip news?"

Rian and Jack gave me blank stares while Zack stepped up.

"Why would we?" Zack interjected. "We don't care what people think of us."

"But you have to worry about your image," I explained. "People will have this perception of you guys being a bunch of inappropriate and immature people."

"But we are a bunch of inappropriate and immature people," Rian commented. "I mean, look at Jack right now," Jack mooned a random old couple who were walking down the street. It almost looked like the old lady was going to have a stroke. "That's how he acts every single day."

"You can't change us for your own liking," Zack added.

I looked back at Jack, who was now using the fire hydrant as a bathroom, and looked back at Rian and Zack. "Okay, you proved your point, but you still need some self-control."

"I have a question," Zack chimed in. "Who were your former clients? I'm just curious."

I shuddered at the thought of my former clients. They were like nightmares that kept coming back to haunt me. "Let's just say that my clients were a bunch of kids."

"Oh…I get it," he smiled. "Disney channel stars."

"Yup," I crossed my arms.

"I see the whole worrying about the reputation thing now," Rian nodded. "Don't worry about labels, alright."

"But," Zack rested his finger on my lips.

"No buts…just penises," he and Rian laughed.

I shook my head as Jack came up behind me.

"Is it bad for me to say that I want to do you right now?" he said in my ear. "I'm really horny."

I pushed him off. "Go hump a tree."

The guys laughed while Alex walked over to us.

"Did I miss anything?"

I walked pass him. "A lot," I opened the door to the building. "Come on, dudes. Meeting time."

The guys walked in and I followed. This must be intense. I knew that the photo shoot scandal was going to be a part of what we were going to talk about in the meeting, but there might be discussion about their tour as well.

We sat down in the meeting area with their whole entire crew as well as one of the executives from their record label. The whole meeting was pretty boring. My attention span wasn't able to hold on to what the discussion was about. All I knew was that the band was obedient, appropriate and polite. I was not really exactly used to this.

When the meeting was over, the band had to do tour preparations. I had this all planned out, but I knew that my plans weren't going to be the way I wanted. I was right.

"Jack, keep your pants on please," I ordered. The guys were playing some songs they were going to put on the set list.

"No, I want you to see my dick," Jack dropped his pants again. Seriously?

Alex began doing some pole dance on a metal post. What the…

Rian and Zack were making fart noises and adding on to the already chaos with alcohol. What began as something subtle became a party.

"You guys, you're not going to get anything…" Alex covered my mouth.

"I'm going to tie you up," he carried me to a chair. "With my body," by the smell of his breath, he was obviously drunk.

I stood up and moved Alex out of the way. He fell to the ground. Rian laughed while Zack consumed more drinks. Jack…I didn't even know how to explain what state he was in.

Matt, their tour manager, walked in. He looked and the guys first then looked at me. "What's going on here? I thought they were going to make the set list for their tour."

"This is their way of preparing for a tour," Alex and Jack started playing drunken leap frog. "I don't know what to do."

He chuckled and walked out.

"Wait! You can't leave me here!" I yelled.

Matt smiled and shrugged. "I'll come back when you control them. Just to let you know, this is them on their good days," he walked out of the room.

I turned and looked at the guys.

"Help," I pleaded quietly.

**Thanks for reading!**


	5. Just One Fix to Keep Me in the Mix

**Finally! Chapter five is up! Hopefully it was worth the wait!**

Matt laughed at the scenery when the chaos finally died down. I sat down at the corner of the room, gazing at the scenery of four passed out dudes sprawled across the floor. Matt sat down next to me and patted my back.

"So, you put the kids to sleep?"

I raised an eyebrow. "The alcohol made them fall asleep…and them colliding into each other when they were jumping around the room, except Zack. He just passed out," I stood up from the bench. "I'm not sure how you're able to handle them on tour."

"I'm not able to handle them. It's all about the patience," Matt confessed.

"Patience, huh?" I questioned. "Well, you must have a whole lot of that."

"You do, too. I mean their other assistant before you called it quits on the second day of the job because they did something similar to this."

I pulled out my planner out of my bag. Oh crap, they had to do an acoustic show for a radio station tonight. I ran over to the guys and started kicking them. "Come on guys! Wake up!" Matt stood up and gave me a confused look. "Acoustic show tonight," he nodded his head and sat back down again. The guys were groaning, not wanting to move a muscle. Alex even kicked me back and mumbled something I couldn't really hear. I wasn't sure if I really wanted to hear it.

Jack opened his eyes and turned himself over so his body was facing the ceiling. "Man…can someone fuck me now?" he groaned. "I need some energy."

Matt laughed as he got up and walked towards him. "There _is_ someone available," he pointed his finger towards me.

"Yeah…no," I denied. "I have a boyfriend, sorry."

Alex's head shot up with his wide brown eyes staring right at me. "You have a boyfriend?"

Matt raised an eyebrow. "Wow. That made you get up. Why are you so interested?" he asked with curiosity.

"Well…I, uh, I just…I'm just surprised I guess," Alex stuttered. "I mean I never heard of an assistant being in a relationship…with someone."

I crossed my arms. "Why? You don't think assistants can't handle a relationship?"

He stood up and walked towards me. "Well, I just think it's hard for you to maintain a relationship since you're surrounded by hotness," he gestured at his band mates around him.

Matt burst out laughing. "More like road kill! You guys turned off every girl who passes you," he joked.

Alex scowled. "Shut up, Flyzik. If we turn off every girl, then how come they throw their bras on stage when they see us? Did you see our collection? It's getting bigger by the minute," he turned to me. "Every girl would kill to have your job and you're not enjoying it?"

"You call babysitting monkeys who appear high on a controlled substance an enjoyable job? Did you even remember what you guys did before you pass out?" Alex stared at me blankly and I shook my head. "See you proved my point," I began waking up the rest of the guys. Jack wouldn't budge since he was waiting to get laid. I kicked him in the balls and he screamed in horror. The rest of the guys almost died laughing as they watched their guitarist suffering from pain.

"You are going to pay, Rizzy! You are going to pay!" Jack yelled. He was still holding his balls while we went to the acoustic show for the radio station. He changed up his posture when we walked in the studio.

Screaming girls erupted the building as the band went to the front, tuning their guitars and getting ready for the performance. I sat down at the side, along with Matt. It was weird that Alex kept looking in our direction as they were getting ready. Alex was definitely an odd child. Okay, he wasn't a child since I think he's one year older than me. Well, he was still a child at heart and on the brain. I guess he was more immature. Whatever, he was still a goofball…a very high goofball.

Matt leaned in. "I think he likes you, Mariz. He's been giving you these looks."

I laughed at his assumption. "I'm the last girl he would have a crush on. Look at the girls around us," the girls almost looked all the same. They all had the "California Girl" look. They had the short shorts, tank tops, tan-skinned with nice pretty long hair. I had this geeky look going on: black-rimmed glasses, a white dress shirt, black slacks and my dark brown hair tied up in a bun. "Besides, I'm already taken."

"We'll see about that," Matt mumbled.

I shook my head and watched the guys performed. Jack must have been still in pain since he kept shifting in his seat. At least he stayed on rhythm throughout the first song. The way the guys performed amazed me. It was like they weren't hung over or anything like that. They were in perfect harmony.

"Okay, guys. This next song is going to be dedicated to someone I truly adore," Alex announced. He glanced over at me. "Even though she may have a boyfriend, I still think she'll be wrapped in me. This is 'Holly, Would You Turn Me On?'" the crowd applauded. "Oh yeah, her name's not Holly anyway. I just don't want to announce her real name," he winked in my direction.

"Oh geez," I muttered.

Mat laughed. "Hate to say I told you so!" He said that so loudly that the girls who were by us gave deadly glares. I word out a "sorry" to them and they continued watching the band perform. This was going to be a tough journey. Not only the guys were crazy as hell, the lead singer has a thing for me. Hopefully this was only the aftermath of the concessive alcohol that was running through his veins.

Hopefully.


	6. Myself, My Words Lost All Meaning

The crowd applauded as the band finished off their acoustic set.

"Don't get herpes!" Jack yelled through the microphone as they walked off the stage. I didn't get why he was so random like that, but the girls seemed to like it.

I followed the boys backstage to their dressing room while Matt had to run some errands first before coming back. It was pretty awkward going in there since I was the only girl in the dressing room. I didn't know what their routine was when they were in there so here was my chance.

"Who wants beer?" Jack carried five bottles of beer in hands he got from the cooler. I sat down on the couch. Of course, everywhere All Time Low went, there was their little friend, alcohol trailing behind them. That was the not so secret ingredient to their craziness.

Alex took two bottles and sat by me on the couch. He was a little too close for comfort so I had to scoot over so there was some space between us. He smiled at my actions. "I don't have cooties, if that's what you're wondering," he set one bottle down on the table and opened the other one that was in his hand. I slightly moved closer to him so the awkwardness could die down between us. After the song dedication, I felt weird with Alex since now I know he had some sort of crush on me. When he noticed what I was doing, Alex slings his arms around my shoulder and sniffed my hair. Was the beer already kicking in?

I pulled my head away from him and looked at him straight in the eyes. "Why are you sniffing my hair?"

Alex shrugged as he brought his arm back to him. "That's what I do when I like someone."

I raised an eyebrow. "You sniff someone's hair when you like someone?"

He nodded like it was a normal thing to do. "It's like when a male dog likes a female dog; they sniff each others' butts. I think sniffing someone's butt is weird so I sniff their hair," he explained as if was making any sense. He leaned in and sniffed my hair again. He sighed in satisfaction. "Wow, strawberries," he moaned with pleasure.

Rian laughed at Alex's weirdness. "Dude, you're scaring the girl, okay? You don't want another assistant to quit because of your actions."

Alex leaned back on the couch and smirked. "You don't have to worry about that, Rian. This assistant we have right now is different," he patted my back. "She's strong and can handle the antics we do…most of the time, but survives," he turned to me. "Just to tell you the truth, we may be wild in these past days, but you haven't seen noth…"

A loud boom was heard from behind me followed by laughter from Jack and Zack. I was too scared to look, but Alex kept forcing me to turn around.

"Look," he said in between laughs. "Just look, please?" I slowly turned around.

The first thing I saw were pieces of paneling scattered on the floor. Did I really want to look up? As I slowly looked up, the hole in the wall got bigger and bigger. Jack was at the other side laughing his ass off and Zack was constantly kicking on the brown painted façade or whatever was left of it.

Alex kept laughing and constantly hitting me in the back while Rian was in complete shock of what was happening that he didn't know what to do, but I knew he thought this whole scenery was hilarious. As for me, I felt like strangling Jack or Zack, whoever it was that caused the hole on the wall.

"Someone created a hole on the wall before us. They just hid it behind the paintings on both sides of the wall," Rian tried to explain to me. He must have noticed my boiling of anger that was raging inside of me. "I guess we…er…Jack and Zack just wanted to make it…bigger?" he finished with an inflection on his voice.

I stood up. "You guys are jackasses," I blurted out. I wanted to say more, but that would get me into deeper trouble. Instead of me yelling my ass off, I walked out of the dressing room to cool down a bit. Someone's footsteps trailed behind me.

"Rizzy, I'm sorry," it was Jack. "I didn't…" he tried to stop himself from laughing. "I didn't mean to."

I stopped and gazed at him with rage. "Are you that much of a dumbass to do that?"

He did this whole innocent puppy eyes thing. "Yes," he said innocently.

"Ugh!" I clenched my fist. "I feel like I want to punch you right now!" Zack came running behind him.

"Leave the scrawny man alone," he hollered. "It was my entire fault. I encouraged him," he elucidated. "I just thought it would be really funny to piss you off," he tried to calm me down by doing a typical cute smile. "Do you forgive us?"

Both of them were trying really hard so I could calm down and not be pissed off at them. Jack was doing the sad eyes while Zack was doing his adorable smile thing at me.

"This right here…" I gestured at them. "…is not going to work."

Matt walked in and was confused by what was going on. "What happened? Did I miss something?"

"Your friends created a hole in the wall! There's a gigantic hole in the wall!" I exclaimed. I was expecting Matt to be infuriated by this, but his lips formed a smile.

"That's awesome!" I turned to Matt in disbelief.

"Are you kidding me?"

Matt shrugged. "I sort of knew about it. The band that performed here before us created a small hole in the wall and we thought it would be a good idea to leave a mark in this place," he finished off.

"You encouraged them?"

Matt frantically shook his head. "No, I mean I…uh…" he didn't know what to say.

I rolled my eyes. "You guys better fix this."

Jack's eyes shot up at me. "I thought you should do the cleaning up?"

"I do the cleaning up while you guys pay the tab," I asserted. "There's no way the company is going to pay this damage for you. Take some responsibility in this."

He crossed his arms. "We'll see about that." An evil smile formed on his lips.

**MY SMALL PACKAGE TOUR! That is all.**


	7. I Found Out Finding Out Isn't the Worst

Anger traveled through my body while the band was sweet talking to the owner of the venue. The owner let them (not me) off the hook. I couldn't believe it. Was it because the owner was a woman and she was hypnotized by the looks of these guys? Whatever it was, the band avoided a big fine to pay for the hole in the wall. Jack glanced back at me and smirked, proving his point that they could get away with anything. Matt must have noticed my anger since he kept telling me that I should let it go and move on repeatedly in my ear.

The owner walked away from the band and went to me. I hated these moments when you knew what was coming. The woman gave Matt and me a small smile before giving us the (bad) news. "You are the assistant, right?" she asked me. I nodded nervously as she continued. "Since you are the responsible one here, you will have to make sure their record label knows about this and pays for the damages." Once again, I had to be responsible for someone else's mistake even though I didn't play any part in it. "I will contact your company to negotiate the cost," the owner walked away, leaving me speechless. That was it. Matt turned to me and gave me a sympathetic smile.

"Things will get better." He was kidding, right?

I rolled my eyes as I walked away from him. "I highly doubt it," I muttered. Right before I opened the exit door, someone grabbed my arm. I turned and saw Alex's face a little too close to mine. "Give me some space, okay?" I snapped. "You're the last person I want to see right now. I have to talk to your record label about your shenanigans," he laughed. "Why the hell are you laughing?"

Alex shook his head. "You're cute when you're angry."

"Ugh," I opened the door again. "I need some time alone."

"Wait," he stopped the door. I looked at him, aggravated about the whole situation. "You can't leave yet."

"My shift is over," I showed him the time on my cell phone. "You guys are on your own." He let me out and I walked to my car. Footsteps were heard behind me. If it was Alex, I swear I was going to punch him. I looked back and saw him with this sad look on his face.

"I'm sorry!" He exclaimed. "I'm sorry!"

"I'm only a foot away from you, Alex. You don't need to scream. I'm not deaf," I stopped in front of him.

Alex sighed loudly. "Come on, Mariz. Please forgive us," he held my hand. "Please?" He pouted his lips.

I glanced at our intertwined hands. "If you let go of my hand, I will forgive you guys."

"Damn," he whispered as he let go of my hand. "I love your baby soft skin."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever, I'm going home." I felt Alex's hand holding mine again. Why couldn't he keep his hands to himself? "What's up with this?" I showed him our hands together.

"I don't want you to go yet," Alex whined. "We're going to the club and I want you to be there. I mean, you are our personal assistant." He sounded like a five year old child wanting a piece of candy. "Please come with me…I mean us," he corrected himself.

"Is this like a red-carpet type event thing?"

"No," he replied quietly. "But it would be nice for you to come."

I shook my head as I pulled my hand away from his. "I just want to take a break. See you guys tomorrow." I opened my car door and went inside. When I placed my cell phone in my compartment, something slammed against my car. My head shot up. Jack's face was pressed against the windshield as his body was sprawled on the car hood. My body shook. I felt like a volcano about to erupt. I stormed out of my car. Jack noticed my anger and immediately jumped off, hiding behind Alex. "Are guys seriously doing this to me?"

"Yes," Alex answered casually.

"Ugh! Shoot me now, please!" I pleaded.

Jack gazed at me. "We don't like to shoot people. We only torture them."

I glared at Jack. "I'm leaving." I jumped back inside the car and quickly turned the ignition before someone else decided to jump on the car again. I drove off into the night, knowing that I was going to deal with many things because of the dressing room incident. I didn't want to deal with this band anymore.

"I quit," I mumbled to myself.

**Do you think she will quit? If she does quit, the story will end very soon (next chapter will be the last chapter pretty much). Anyways, I hope you guys like this chapter! **


	8. Love Can Break In

**REVISED VERSION!**

Shaun's eyes followed me as I got ready to go to work for the last time. Today, I was going to go to Craig and tell him straight out that I wanted to quit. I didn't want to deal with a band that treated me like a piece of shit. I was sick of all of their antics and I couldn't take it anymore. It has only been two days working with them and I already wanted to rip their heads out. I just wanted some silence, some peace in my life. I didn't want another annoyance to ruin everything.

Shaun sighed as I grabbed my hoodie and purse. I was going casual today: a blue Something Corporate t-shirt with a black pencil skirt and black Chucks. I let my hair hang loosely on my shoulders. What was the whole point of me dressing up professionally if I was going to quit?

Shaun pulled me into a hug. "I hope you're making the right decision."

"Of course I'm making the right decision," I replied matter-of-factly. "This is what I want."

He nodded as he opened the door for me. "See you at the shop, then? For our date?"

I smiled and nodded. "I'll see you at the shop." I gave him a quick peck on the lips. "See you later."

"Love you," he smiled as I walked to my car.

Anxiety ran through me as I started the car and pulled out of the driveway. I couldn't believe it. I was so close of getting out of the hell that was All Time Low. I drove over the speed limits as I came along, but when I finally reached the building, happiness flooded in me. I got out of the car and joyfully entered those doors to the elevator. I smiled from ear-to-ear thinking that this was all finally over. No more freaking All Time Low.

I walked out the elevator on the seventh floor. Stares came upon me because of my attire. I pretty much stuck out like a sore thumb in there, but I never cared. I was going to quit. This was my last day I was going to be here.

Craig's door was closed so I knocked on it enthusiastically.

"Come in," he called from the other side.

I opened the door. My smile faded as I saw who was in front of Craig's desk. Their eyes gazed at me while my jaw dropped to the floor.

Craig smiled. "Mariz, I'm so happy you came here. How are you?"

I didn't reply. What the hell were they doing here?

Alex broke the silence. "If you're wondering why we're here, we are paying for the damages from last night."

"The hole in the wall?" I questioned.

He shook his head. "No, we broke one of the windows when we were at the club," he smiled. "Alcohol got the best of us."

I rolled my eyes. "What else is new?" I muttered.

Craig patted my arm. "Don't worry. The damages from the venue have been resolved as well. As for today, I need you to bring Alex to an interview for a magazine article."

My eyes widened. "What?"

Alex grinned. "Yeah, it's our day off today, but I'm scheduled for an interview and I need someone to drive me there, Mariz."

My chance of quitting was ruined once more. I sighed. "Okay," I grumbled. Craig grinned as the guys and I walked out of the office. Jack ran up beside me.

"You look pretty hot today," he winked at me. "Maybe we should hook up sometimes."

Alex pushed him off. "What the hell, man?" He linked his arm to mine. "She's going to be with _me_ for the rest of the day."

I removed my arm from his grip. "Just stop, okay?" I snapped.

Jack smirked. "Uh-oh, it looks like someone's PMS-ing."

I ignored his comment as we walked in the elevator. Zack began poking me in the back when the elevator moved down.

"Stop," I ordered, but soon enough all of them began poking me. I slapped their hands, but they still wouldn't quit. They all laughed as my frustration showed. I took a deep breath and tried to relax. I attempted to ignore the annoyance around me, but they just wouldn't stop.

"Why are so quiet? Why are you so quiet?" Jack repeatedly asked while poking me at the same time. "Why are you so quiet?"

"Do you seriously want me to kick you in the balls again?" I asked sternly. As if on cue, all of them stopped and stayed silent. I guessed they knew what I was capable of.

When we finally got out of the building, the guys, except Alex, went in Zack's car.

"See you tomorrow, personal assistant!" Jack said in the most obnoxious voice. "Don't fuck, Alex!"

My eyes narrowed as they pulled out of the car laughing. My plans for today went down the drain. I was super-glued to this band and there was no way of escaping them.

Alex wrapped his arms around my waist. "Now, it's just you and me."

I pushed him away. "I shouldn't even be here right now. I should be at the music shop with Shaun so we can go out on our date."

He smirked. "Well, that date has been canceled, my dear because you have a date with me now."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever, get in the car." I opened the car door and sat down on the driver's seat while Alex sat in the passenger seat. I pulled out my cell phone to call Shaun about the sudden changes for today.

Alex glanced at my cell phone screen. "Is that your boyfriend Shaun?" He pointed out the wallpaper on the phone. It was a picture of Shaun and I on the couch together.

"Yeah," I answered while I dialed Shaun's number.

"I'm so much better looking than him," he commented.

I placed the phone to my ear. "In your dreams," I muttered. "He's way better looking than you and he's not annoying, unlike some people."

"You want me," he answered. "You're just in denial."

"Whatever you say, Gaskarth," I got out of the car and closed the door. Shaun answered the phone.

"Hey Mariz, what's up?" Shaun answered.

"Um, there has been a slight change to our plans," I began, but Shaun cut me off.

"You didn't quit, huh?"

I sighed heavily. "No. I'm sorry I can't go on our date."

Shaun chuckled. "Don't worry about it, okay? The shop is pretty busy today anyway so yeah," he paused. "We can have our date tonight."

"Okay then," I answered. "I'll see you tonight then. I love you."

"I love you too sweetheart," he hung up the phone.

I opened the car door and got inside. Alex gazed at me which made me a little scared. His brown eyes stared deeply into mine. I wasn't sure if this was an unsaid staring contest or something, but I noticed him leaning in towards me. Slowly at first, then…

"Holy shit!" I pushed him off. What the hell was wrong with him? "Are you drunk? I have a fucking boyfriend!"

"Look! I'm sorry! So so sorry! The hormones got the best of me!"

I shook my head and started the car. "Just forget that happened, okay?" I asserted.

He nodded as we pulled away from the parking lot. Silence filled the spaces between us as my mind kept referring back to what happened with Alex.

We kissed. How could you forget about that?

**Did you like this version better? :) Let me know if you read the original version of this chapter!**


	9. Take This Time to Realize

Alex glanced at me when we reached our destination.

"I'm really sorry about what I did. Can you please just talk to me?"

I glared at him. "You fucking kiss me on the lips," I opened the car door. "You disgust me." I slammed the door and walked over to the entrance door. Alex followed as we entered the building. He sighed when he realized I wasn't going to let that go easily.

The receptionist smiled at the both of us as we walked towards the desk. She sat up straight and did this really weird beautiful eyes thing at Alex. Obviously she knew him. "Are you here for the interview?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yes, we have an appointment with Clarissa, the editor-in-chief."

"Of course," the receptionist looked at me from head-to-toe. "Are you his girlfriend?"

I shook my head furiously. "No, I'm his assistant, his band's assistant." This was the last time I would ever go casual on the job. "Will you tell us where we need to go?"

The receptionist grinned and gladly explained us the direction to Clarissa's office. I thanked her afterwards and we headed to the elevator to go to the ninth floor.

"I'm not surprised that the receptionist asked if you were my girlfriend," Alex spoke up as we were in the elevator.

"Why?" I snapped.

"Because of the way you are dressed today." Alex smirked as I rolled my eyes. "Normally, assistants don't dress up like you do."

"This is my first time ever dressing up like this during the job," I scoffed. "I don't even know why that woman even asked if I was your girlfriend. That's none of her business to even ask."

"She's jealous of you," Alex explained. "She can't believe that my band has an amazingly beautiful woman as a personal assistant."

The elevator doors parted and we both walked out. The ninth floor was filled with women, who stopped and stared at Alex as we walked by. I couldn't see what they were seeing in Alex. Although he was cute, he was an annoying, indecent human being. They were oblivious to Alex's charm that they didn't know what was beneath his good looks.

I glanced back at him. He smiled his signature smile. He wasn't even paying attention to the drooling women around him. He was only looking at me. I looked away before something more was going to happen. I didn't want another repeat of what happened earlier.

Clarissa waited for us by her office. She smiled brightly as we approached her. "Hello Alex," she greeted and shook Alex's hand. Her eyes went on me. "You must be his…"

"Assistant," I finished.

She nodded and gestured us to come in. I sat in the corner while Alex sat across from Clarissa's desk. I was only here to make sure Alex was doing his job answering the question appropriately and not mess things up.

Clarissa took out her tape recorder and a notebook. The both of them were discussing about All Time Low's music and Alex's life in general. Surprisingly things were going smoothly and now Clarissa mentioned about his love life.

"Many girls are wondering what you look for in a girl?" she asked. "What do you look for in a girl? What type of girls are you into?"

Alex folded his arms on his chest. "Well…I like a girl who is beautiful, charming, and kind. I usually like it when a girl pushes me away because that makes me want her more. I like a challenge," he beamed.

"Are you dating anyone?"

He shook his head. "Nope, but I'm trying to reel someone in."

Clarissa smiled. "Who could that be?" She leaned in, anticipating his answer.

"I'm not telling," he grinned. "You just have to wait and see," Alex winked at me.

Clarissa must have noticed since her eyes shot at me. She then began writing in her notepad. She better not make up some story about Alex and I being together. I would sue her ass.

She asked more question about his love life. Some of the questions were too personal so I had to step in. Clarissa was frustrated at first, but backed down. The interview ended there and we left the place.

"People can be dumb at times," Alex commented as we were in the car. "It's obvious I'm not a virgin anymore."

"It's not really something you brag about unless if you were a man whore," I assured. "It turns some girls off."

"Does it turn you off?" he asked with curiosity.

"Why does my opinion matter?" I started the car and pulled away from the curb. "If you really want to know, yes, it does turn me off when a guy sleeps with many girls. Higher chance they have STDs."

"Thanks," Alex replied sarcastically. He glanced out the window. "Can we go somewhere to eat?"

"No, I'm going to drop you off at your place."

"You know where I live?"

"What do you think I am? A stalker?" I asserted.

"I wouldn't mind you being my stalker," he grinned.

I shook my head. "Whatever, I'm going to the music shop so the guys can pick you up instead."

"Is that the same music shop your boyfriend works at?"

I nodded. "Yeah, you'll get to meet him," I smirked.

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Do you honestly think I will be intimidated by him? I highly doubt it," he scoffed.

"He's so much better than you," I argued.

We drove to the music shop. I wanted to show Alex that Shaun was a better person than he was. I wanted to show Alex that he couldn't stand a chance next to Shaun. I wanted to show to Alex that Shaun could never be replaced by him.

Hold on, why was I worrying so much about this? Alex was just a dude. He was my client. Why was I so caught up in proving to him that Shaun was better than him?

I parked the car in front of the music shop. Alex walked out, but I stayed inside. I needed to recollect my thoughts. Place them out carefully in front of me. I wanted to know the true reason why I was doing this to myself. What was the root to this problem? Why was I so caught up?

Alex opened the car door. "If you didn't realize it, we're here. You can get out now," he said matter-of-factly.

"Screw you, Alex," I glared.

"Tell me what time and I'll be there," he smiled and winked at me before closing the door.

"Ugh!" I got out of the car in frustration.

It never ends.

**Keep reading as always.**


	10. Sometimes My Mind Plays Tricks On Me

Alex and I sat down on the bench that was located inside the store. Shaun was busy with a customer so I wasn't able to talk to him, although he was surprised when he saw me with Alex. He wasn't expecting a so-called rock star to sit by me. Jordan, one of the workers there, stared at the both of us, surprised as well. She then flipped her color treated hair constantly and doing the whole beautiful eye crap in our way. She was obviously trying to get some attention from Alex. Alex, on the other hand, wasn't really paying attention to her. I never got that.

I turned to Alex, who was texting on his phone. "You know that girl is flirting with you, right?" I mentioned. He looked up in Jordan's direction, laughed a little, and then went back texting on his phone.

"Almost every girl is like that. Sometimes it gets annoying though, having all these girls be all over you," he admitted. "That's why I'm more attracted to more sane girls who don't really like me that much," Alex grinned.

"I think Jordan is pretty sane. I mean, she doesn't really act like that all the time," I clarified.

"You're talking about the redhead, right? The one you pointed out to me?" I nodded. "She'll never go normal." Alex placed the phone inside his pocket and picked up one of the guitars that were by him.

I sighed and leaned back on the bench. I checked my phone. It was only five minutes away until Alex was going to get picked up by the guys. All of a sudden, I heard a sudden bang. My head shot up and saw Alex "accidentally" bumped into one of the guitars that were by him. I didn't believe that he bumped into that thing by accident.

Shaun ran over to us and saw the guitar laying flat on the floor. Alex pretended to be all shocked about it.

"Oh, I didn't mean to do that." Alex was probably one of the worse people to fake it. He glanced at me and smirked.

Shaun picked up the guitar and placed it on the counter. There were only some scratches, just very minor damages to the instrument (fortunately) and everyone went back to work, except Shaun. He exhaled noisily and sat down between Alex and me. Alex's eyebrows furrowed while I smiled.

"Sorry about the guitar," Alex apologized, with no sincerity in his voice.

Shaun shrugged. "Don't worry about it," he grinned. "Are you one of Mariz's clients?"

"Yup. The name's Alex. She takes care of my band, All Time Low."

"I'm Shaun, her boyfriend," Shaun replied, emphasizing the "boyfriend" part in his sentence.

They both shook hands. "I heard a lot about you, Shaun. Mariz always talks about you," Alex explained. "She's says you're a good guy."

"Oh really? Shaun glanced over at me. I grinned as he looked back at Alex.

"Yeah…don't you know she'll go on tour with us pretty soon?" he smirked.

I crossed my arms. "Excuse me; I never said I was going on tour with you guys. Where did you hear that from?"

"From Craig. He said that you need to go on tour with us alone and handle the tour stuff and other important stuff."

I seriously needed to talk to Craig about this whole ordeal. I never said I was going to go on tour with them. That was when I was going to decide whether or not I was going to continue on with this job. Of course I wasn't going to continue on with this. I hated this job, but it seemed like every time I tried to quit, the band got in the way of it.

"I never knew that," Shaun frowned. "How come you never told me you were going to go on tour with the band?" He asked me.

"Because that wasn't part of the…"

A loud noise was heard from outside, almost like a car crash. We all ran out of the store to see what was going on. My eyes widened as I saw a car collided into the back of my car. Jack got out the driver's seat of the car laughing. Zack and Rian got out from the passenger seat and the back seat, shocked but laughing as well.

"That's why we don't let Jack drive," Zack commented in between laughs. "I feel so bad to the owner of that car."

I glared at all of them. "I'm the owner of that car, jerks," I snapped.

"Sorry," Jack managed to say while holding back his laughter. "Hey, my car got damaged too, you know."

"If you didn't have a brain that was a size of a peanut, this wouldn't have happened, huh?" I asserted.

Jack pouted. "I don't have a brain that's a size of a peanut," he replied childishly. He stomped inside the store while Zack and Rian followed, avoiding all means to give eye contact. Shaun rubbed my back.

"It's just an accident," he reasoned with me. "Rock stars always want to act like a badass and do stupid stuff to get attention."

"Do you want my job?" I asked, wondering what he was going to say.

He shook his head. "No, not really."

I rolled my eyes and walked back inside the store again. The guys were seated at the bench, laughing about the whole thing. When they saw me, they stopped.

"Just go," I ordered. "I honestly don't know the whole point of staying here."

Alex stood up and walked towards me. "We don't feel like leaving."

"You guys just killed the whole day for me already, so why don't you guys just leave."

Alex leaned in forward. "We are not leaving," he asserted. "No fucking way." He picked up a guitar and threw it across the room, breaking it in half.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I snapped.

The guys stood up, but Alex gestured them to sit back down again. "I can handle this. This is not the first time we had a personal assistant." No one was hearing this since they were still outside, gazing at the damages of the crash. It was just me and the band.

"Are you on some controlled substance?" I exclaimed. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"He's in love," Jack hollered behind Alex.

I gave Jack a puzzled look. "What are you talking about? How does that relate to what I was asking?" That man seriously did have a peanut-sized brain.

"He means that the whole reason why I'm like this because I'm in love," Alex clarified.

"Then can you guys explain why my car got damaged so badly?" I questioned.

"Because Jack was a dumbass…we were all dumbasses to let Jack drive," Zack answered. "I should've known better."

"We should've known better," Rian chimed in. "But back to Alex's problem, he's in love with you."

I raised an eyebrow. "That's so random."

"Random, but true," Alex turned to me. "I love you."

I stared at him. "Yeah, you guys need to go right now."

This time they all followed my order and got out of the store.

"I'll pay for the damages. I promise!" Jack exclaimed before leaving the store. "I'll have my assistant fill out the check for me!"

"I'm your assistant, you dumb fuck!" He didn't hear me though and they all drove off, leaving my car in a crappy condition. Shaun walked in the store and saw the broken guitar that lay on the floor.

"What happened to the guitar?" He ran over to it and picked it up. "It's ruined!"

"It flew to the wall and fell on the ground," I walked to the exit door. "Thanks to your favorite band."

**25 more days until I see them...**


	11. Nightmare

Walking down the streets of Hollywood was like reliving a nightmare. At almost every corner of the street, there was a celebrity that I had once been an assistant to. They were giving me strange looks, some of them even glared. Did they even remember me? Well, some of them did since they were glaring at me like I was the bad guy. I ignored them. I had too much on my mind and they were the last people I should be worrying about. Hollywood was a wreck.

The high class nonsense in this place controlled everyone and the fame brought them down even more. Every single person was all under the spell of this town. They all got the same bratty attitude and had this careless persona to make them famous. It was weird that I was still living here. Many bad memories lingered in this city with my family. They were the reason why I was in this position. They were all caught up in this microcosm of fakes and talkers. My father was a talent manager, my mother was a stage mom to my sister, and my sister…she was the aspiring actress. My parents wanted me to contribute to this business and since I didn't want to be an actress or a musician, I ended being a personal assistant. They lived in the swankiest part of this town: Beverly Hills.

I rebelled against living there since it was infested with snobs and rich people. I never wanted to be associated with that kind of crowd. My parents disapproved my thoughts towards this place and kicked me out of the house. I was 19 then. It sucked that I never got to see them often (with the exception of my sister), but I did see my dad every once in a while. I never actually approached him thought. I never saw my mom since she was too busy with my sister, Miranda. Miranda hated me for no particular reason. I wasn't a big fan of hers, either. I was pretty sure she didn't miss me. Although I did work within this business, I was not going to stoop so low in order to be noticed by that kind of crowd Miranda wanted to be in.

A crowd of paparazzi appeared in front of the café I was heading to. Judging by the designer wear and the wannabe rock star façade, it was probably the Jonas Brothers. I never lasted long with them. I couldn't stand listening to their music every night. They were my only clients who brought me on tour with them. The rest of them urged me to quit before they even started their tour, if they had one. Okay, so maybe they didn't urge me to quit, but the way they acted made me do it. I didn't last on that tour, however, and backed down on the second week since it got a little crazy on the bus. The Jonas Brothers weren't as innocent as their public image.

I avoided the crowd and walked inside the café in peace. I ordered a mocha latte and sat down by the window. I watched the cameras following every move of the boys as they struggled to get inside the vehicle. Their personal assistant was completely lost in the crowd. The brothers didn't notice since they drove off without her. I felt bad for her.

Staring at my beverage, I began to reflect on what happened today: Alex kissing me, Jack crashing into my car, Alex telling me that he loved me and reassuring that by throwing a guitar at a wall. Nice. I wouldn't be surprised if they went on an episode of _Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew._

My phone began buzzing.

I checked the text message. It was Shaun, asking me where I was. That took him long enough to realize I was gone. I replied to him and told him to give me some time alone. He knew I needed this time alone, especially after all of this crap that just happened.

I wasn't really drinking my mocha latte. I just stared at it. I was stressing out too much. Too much chaos going on, it was almost uncontrollable. Strangely enough, I had a feeling that I was able to handle this. Maybe I could to this. Maybe.

"Hey," a voice answered to me.

I looked up and saw Rian's bright teeth shining down on me. "Hey," I replied flatly.

He took a seat across from me and folded his hands on the table. "Look, we are deeply sorry about what happened today. Jack was a little crazy and Alex…"

"…was a douche. I get it," I took a sip of my drink.

"Well, I wasn't going to say douche, but you got the point," he shrugged. "We explained to Shaun about everything that happened. "

"Everything?" I questioned.

"Not everything, it's not like we would tell him about Alex telling you that he loves you."

"About that, does he seriously think I would date him?"

Rian nodded. "I know Alex. He's determined to get what he wants and who he wants."

I sighed. "I don't think it's not a good idea for me to go on tour with you guys, especially with Alex and all," I paused. "Are you sure he means it when he said that?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if he wrote a song about you. I mean, he already dedicated a song to you," he recalled.

"Are you sure…"

"Yes," Rian replied sternly.

I leaned back on the chair and glanced out the window. The guys were waiting inside the car. I noticed Alex giving me weird signals. I didn't know what the hell he was doing, but whatever it was, it must be inappropriate. "The guys made you talk to me, huh?"

"They said you hated me the least," he explained.

"I thought so."

From the corner of my eye, I saw Alex coming out of the car. What kind of stupidity was he going to do this time?

Alex walked up to us and kneeled down in front of me. People were staring at us as they were expecting some kind of proposal. I hit his arm.

"Get up," I muttered under my breath.

Alex ignored my comment. "Mariz Cervantes," he held my hand. He gazed at me with a smile on his face. "Will you forgive me?"

I nodded my head furiously. "Yes, yes, just please stand up." I pulled his hand up.

Alex chuckled as he stood up and kissed my forehead. "Don't worry, I won't tell your boyfriend about us."

"Shut up, there's nothing…"

"Mariz?" Her voice burned my ears. I didn't want to look her way. I didn't want to see that face again.

She tapped on my shoulder. "Over here," she called. I turned around.

Demi Lovato was back in my life again, along with her minion, Miranda. This was definitely a living nightmare.


	12. We All Seem To Change

Miranda smirked as she saw my reaction. Honestly, I wasn't so happy to see Miranda at all. I haven't talked to her ever since I got kicked out of our parents' place. She looked different. We didn't even look related. Her hair was dyed in a lighter shade of brown; her skin was so tan that she could be mistaken as a Jersey Shore cast member, and her clothes were slutty as hell. My older sister who I have looked up to when I was a kid faded away. Now, I was standing in front of stranger.

Demi crossed her arms. "Well, aren't you going to hug your big sister or just stand there like a fool?"

I couldn't say anything back. I was too shocked at everything around me. Before Demi shot another insult at me, Miranda spoke.

"I want to talk to my sister alone," she announced. Demi nodded and hugged her, whispering something in her ear before leaving the café.

"It was nice seeing you, Mariz," Demi replied sarcastically. She walked out of the café as the paparazzi crowded around her as she got in the car. The car struggled as it tried to pull away from the curb without running over any photographers. I glanced back at Alex and Rian, who were still stunned at the fact that I had a sister in the first place.

"You guys can go," I mentioned to them, hoping both of them would automatically leave when I told them to.

Rian stood up and gave me a small smile before leaving the scene, but Alex didn't budge.

"Alex, just go, okay?" I insisted.

He sighed and gave me a quick hug before walking away.

"I'll be waiting in the car," Alex assured as he left the café. I saw him entering the black Land Rover, set the windows down on the passenger seat, and watched us. Sometimes he could be creepy, but at least he was nice.

"Is that your new man?" Miranda interrupted my thoughts.

I shook my head. "No, I don't have a new man. I'm dating someone else. He's one of my clients."

She raised an eyebrow. "Wait…so all of those guys who are in that car," she pointed at the Land Rover that was parked. "They are your clients?"

I nodded. "Yeah, why do you seem to care?" I snapped.

She rolled her eyes as she sat down on the chair beside her. "Is it bad for me to ask who my baby sister's clients are? You know, I do feel bad for you when my parents kicked you out of the house, but you deserved it," she looked at me. "Well…are you going to sit down or stand there like an idiot?"

I followed her orders as I sat down on the seat across from her. "They're my parents too, Miranda. Don't think I don't miss them."

Miranda sneered. "Sure, whatever," she took out a brush from her bag and began brushing her hair. "In other news, how's life going for you lately, other than being a pushover bitch to those guys? I think you should stick with teenagers who have potential in this business instead of wannabe rock stars who will be forgotten in two years."

I glared at her. "The lead singer of that band is friends with Demi. You know that, right? I mean, if you're her little follower, you should know all of her friends."

She shrugged. "She won't know. I don't even think they're friends anymore since she completely ignored the guy when she left here. Anyway, you didn't answer my question. How's it like to be a bitch to this industry?"

I shook my head. "You changed, Miranda."

Miranda laughed as if it was a joke. "I changed?" she stared at me with wide eyes. "You say I changed? What about you, Mariz? Weren't you the one who completely left the family business so you could pursue your dreams of going to college? Where is your college degree, Mariz? You don't have nada. Do you remember who put you in this position? It was you. Dad offered you to be in this business. To be in movies, television, everything a girl your age would want. Instead you plummeted into a low class career that you secretly wanted. What is it? Being a fucking personal assistant to the people who are living the life that my parents wanted you to pursue."

Anger fueled up inside of me. "I wasn't the one who wanted this. Mom and Dad kept pushing me to the limit to pursue a career in this business. They didn't give a fuck to what I wanted to be, what I wanted to pursue. All they wanted was their two darling daughters to be famous in Hollywood. When I refused, they forced me into the job I have now and since I don't have enough money to even go to a fucking community college, I'm stuck with the job I have that _our _parents gave me," I snapped. I felt tears coming from my eyes. "You don't know the whole story, Miranda. You never gave me the chance to tell you."

Instead of trying to comfort me or even show any signs that she cared, she grinned. It was like she was feeding off of my pain. "You're just jealous that I'm in the position that you wanted to be in. Don't be denying the fact that you want this. You want the wealth. You want the fame. Everyone secretly desires that, including you. Don't try to put the blame on Mom or Dad to explain why you are like this," she stood up from her seat. "By the way, _our _parents don't miss you. We are all better off without you." She walked out of the café. A silver Lexus was waiting for her. When she opened the passenger side door, I saw our father, in the driver's seat.

He completely ignored me. I knew he saw me. I was seated right by the window where the car was parked. Miranda closed the passenger side door and they drove off. I sat there dumbfounded. I couldn't believe my father completely ignored me. I was just another stranger to him. Although we never talked or anything after I got kicked out, I still loved them all. It hurt me to think that they didn't miss me. My family was indulged under this scene and they couldn't get out of it.

Alex came over and sat down across from me. I quickly wiped out the tears and kept a straight face, even though inside, I was shattered.

"Are you okay?" he asked with a worried tone in his voice.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about me," I smiled. "It's just my sister being a bitch to me. No big deal."

Alex frowned at my reply, thinking I wasn't really alright, but I didn't want him to think that. I never wanted to show my weak side to anyone, especially in front of a guy like Alex. "It's normal for her to act like that in front of me," I continued. "She does that to me ever since she got a taste in this industry. Since I never wanted to follow in her footsteps, she pushes me around."

"Damn, she is a bitch, but a good looking one," Alex admitted.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, she even called you guys forgotten wannabe rock stars. She's even meaner than me towards you guys."

His eye widened. "Okay, her looks are out of the picture. I can't believe she called us a bunch of wannabes," he shook his head. "That bitch," he said in disgust.

I couldn't help but laugh at his reaction. He was so funny when he got angry. Alex glanced up at me and grinned. "That's what I want to see," he pointed at me. "That cute laugh that you always do. Forget what your sister told you. She'll never be as awesome as you are."

"You're just saying that so you could go on a date with me."

Alex sighed. "Yeah, but I know that will never happen," he paused. "Seriously though, just forget what she said. If you dwell on the insults, you'll just prove to her that you're weak." I nodded as we both stood up. "Come on," he held my hand. "Let's go."

I quickly removed my hand. "Will you stop doing that?" I asserted.

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Stop doing what?"

"Holding my hand, and all the other stuff you do to me," I answered.

His lips curved into a smile. "So you're saying that I should stop doing this?" he wrapped his arms around my waist. "And this, too?" he kissed my forehead.

I pushed him away. "Yes," I asserted. "I have a boyfriend, Alex. You know that."

He shrugged. "He won't know."

I shook my head as I walked pass him. "You annoy me," I muttered under my breath.

"I know I do," he replied with joy.


	13. Bruised and Broken

A week passed by ever since my encounter with Miranda. At first, I thought I would dwell on the fact that I met up with her in the first place, but other things occupied my mind. The band was going to start their tour in a week and I needed to decide whether or not I was going to come with them. A part of me didn't want to come since I never wanted to deal with a bunch of morons on a daily bases, especially living on the same tour bus as them for almost three months. I couldn't even handle the band for three minutes, let alone three months. The possibilities of them being crazy and rowdy were endless. Also, the whole thing with Alex would make touring with them more torturous. His constant flirtation and trying to hook up with me would make me want to shoot myself.

At the same time, however, I wanted to go on this tour. Not because of the band or anything, but just escaping from the wraths of Hollywood would make me feel more alive. I lived here all my life and I rarely traveled outside of this place. I always wanted to get away from the west coast. I pretty much went to every city along the west coast because of the Jonas Brothers, never anywhere else. Maybe I would consider going on tour because of that.

I waited on the guys while they were doing some interview for a magazine. It was for Seventeen Magazine so they had to keep the interview G-rated, PG-rated at the most. I gazed at the walls which were filled with posters of their magazine covers of teen starlets like Miley Cyrus. There were so many of them. Everyone wanted the taste of this town.

Yelling and laughing were heard from inside the room, then a sudden thump. It stayed quiet for a couple of seconds until another thump was heard. I was not looking forward to what the guys have done this time.

The interviewer walked out of the room, infuriated as she stomped down the hallways. I heard her muttering obscenities while she went in the elevator to escape from the unknown chaos.

Jack came out of the room, zipping up his pants while the guys snickered behind him. By the look on Jack's face, I knew what he did. Zack smirked as he stood beside me. "Do we need to explain?"

I shook my head. "I wonder when you guys will straighten up your act," I commented. "I know that you guys are 'crazy' like this, but can you guys tone it down a little?"

"What? Are we too much to handle now?" Zack snapped. "Are we too crazy for you?"

"Yes, you guys are," I admitted. "I'm pretty sure you know that from the beginning, but at least try…"

"Like I said before, you can't change us for your own liking," Zack reminded.

"I'm not trying to change…why are you hiding behind that plant?" I raised an eyebrow at Jack, who randomly standing behind the ferns.

Jack smiled widely. "I'm going to water it."

I slapped my forehead. "Are you seriously…Alex!"

Alex stopped drawing the picture of a penis, which he drew next to Miley Cyrus' mouth on the wall. He quickly hid the sharpie in his coat pocket and glanced over at me. "It's Rian who drew the picture. I just wanted to add the details."

Rian smiled. "Yeah, you weren't expecting that from me, huh?"

I rolled my eyes. "Are you done pissing yet, Jack?" I turned to Jack.

"Yeah, Rizzy," he called behind the ferns. He came around and smiled. "I also added some fertilizer to the soil, too."

I shook my head. "Can we just get out of here?" I announced. The guys followed me as we walked to the elevator. I swore I felt something touch my ass. It wasn't a hand either. I looked back and saw Alex grinning. I quickly turned around. "Stay away from me!"

Alex raised his hands up like it was no big deal. "I'm just getting a boner for being close to you." The elevator opened as we proceeded to walk inside. "Can you just do me already?"

"Not in a million years and if your dick ever touches me again, I'll snap it off."

He smiled. "I'll let you have my penis."

"Ugh," I crossed my arms. "It's like hell to be stuck with you guys." The elevator closed as it proceeded to go down. "You don't even know it."

The elevator began to shake a little as the lights flickered on and off. "What the fuck is going on?" Alex's eyes widened.

All of us looked at each other in fear. The elevator began to shake violently. Everyone was holding onto each other for dear life. Alex held onto Jack who held onto to Rian who held onto me while I was clinging on Zack. It went into a complete stop, which made us fell on the floor.

"Shit!" Jack got up, rubbing his head. "What happened?"

Alex slapped the back of his head. "The elevator is stuck, you dumbass!" He stood up to push the button that opened the door. Then he pushed all of the buttons. He sighed in defeat as he turned to Zack. "Break down the door."

His eyes widened. "You expect me to open that steel door?"

"You have muscles," Alex said matter-of-factly.

Zack shook his head as he sat down in the corner. "We need to contact Matt so he could tell the maintenance people we're stuck."

Rian contacted him and told him our situation. A few minutes passed before the maintenance people began working on the elevator to get us out. We were stuck between two floors, according to them, so there was no way we could get out of there without the elevator functioning again.

I guessed this was a taste of hell for me.

**Geez...I haven't updated this story on here. Sorry about that!**


	14. No Clue of What Comes Next

"Ahhhh!" Jack slammed onto the door and fell on his back. The guys laughed as I sat down on the corner again. This was a living nightmare. The fact that I was stuck with these shitheads in a very enclosed area made me sick. There was no way I was able to get out of here even if I tried. This was the moment I wanted to avoid and now I was living it. This was going to be a test of my tolerance with the guys.

Zack turned to me and grinned. "Having fun so far?"

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Does it look like I'm having fun?"

He shrugged as he sat down beside me. "You should at least loosen up a bit. We are going to be stuck here for a while," he reminded.

I rested my back against the elevator wall and sighed deeply. Maintenance was working on the problem as we waited, but they weren't working fast enough. Alex walked over and sat down beside me. He rested his head against mine as his lips curved into a smile.

"We should play a game," he announced as he gazed up at me. "Are you up for truth or dare?"

I scooted away from him, accidently bumping into Zack. Zack draped his arm around my shoulder. "Stop flirting with her, man. She obviously doesn't like you."

I removed Zack's arm around my shoulder. "I obviously don't really like any of you," I snapped.

Alex's eyes widened as he placed one of his hands on his chest. "How dare you?" he answered dramatically. "I thought we were friends."

I rolled my eyes and rested my back against the wall. "Why don't you guys just leave me alone, please?" I pleaded. "I'm not exactly enjoying this moment with you guys." I crossed my arms and avoided eye contact with all of them. I looked down on the floor. Jack's head slowly appeared in front of my face, his eyes completely wide.

"Ugh." I looked up and saw Alex's ass in front of my face. I threw up a little in my mouth. "Why are your fucking pants down?" I quickly turned away as the guys laughed.

"To have some fun for once in here," Alex managed to say between laughs. "The only entertainment we have is annoying you."

"Pretty much," Rian chimed in.

"If you actually have some fun for once, we won't annoy you," Jack announced.

I looked back at them. The four of them with their goofy grins plastered on their faces were secretly planning more schemes to annoy me even more if I denied. This was my choice now. Would I continue to be this annoyed girl who complained about being stuck here or let my guards down and actually join them…to have fun?

"Fine," I surrendered. "I'll try to have some fun."

The guys' grins grew wider as Alex walked towards me. "I guess you're up for a round of truth or dare," he kissed my cheeks.

I pushed him away. "_Please _pull your pants up."

"Why am I not surprise?" I laughed as well as the guys when Alex confessed he "accidentally" went into a full on make out session with a male stripper when he got drunk in Vegas. The stories these guys told me were so fucked up I couldn't even believe it. All of the guys chose "truth" for the first round.

Alex raised his hands up. "Okay," he turned to me. "Now, it's Mariz's turn." His lips formed into a smile. "Truth or dare?"

I could tell that the guys were certain that I would choose "dare." I smiled back at Alex. "Dare."

The guys' eyes widened. Alex's face brightened up. "Wow," he commented. "That's…I was not expecting you to choose 'dare,'" he leaned back on the wall. "There are so many things I could think of."

"Make out with me."

Our heads turned to Zack, who had a smirk on his face.

"What?" Alex snapped. "Are you asking Mariz to make out with _you_? Why? You don't even like her…not in that way."

Zack crossed his arms. "Who says that I need to like someone _in that way _in order to make out with them? This is all for fun, no intentions of ever getting serious," he assured. "Right, Mariz?"

I gazed at Zack. He was waiting for my approval. I heard Alex muttering obscenities while Jack and Rian waited for the make out session. I sighed. "How long is the make out session?"

"What?" Alex exclaimed, jumping on his two feet over towering me. "You're really going to do this? You have a boyfriend!"

"Wow, that sounds familiar," Zack rolled his eyes. "You constantly flirt with Mariz on a daily bases. You even kissed her, told her that you love her, and show so much public affection as possible to get in her pants…_even when she has a boyfriend,_" he paused. "This is different, nothing serious."

"We should stop thi-," I tried to intervene, but Zack's lips crashed onto mine in an instant. Within a few seconds, he pulled away.

"That was the shortest make out session I've ever seen," Jack mentioned.

Rian shrugged. "At least it's all over."

Alex sat down, calm and collected again. He didn't turn my way when he spoke up. "Let's stop playing this game before this gets out of hand," he announced as his eyes shifted to Zack. "Don't want anymore make out request."


	15. Can't Make My Own Decisions

Everyone was pretty silent after my "make out session" with Zack. It was obvious that a big part of me felt guilty for doing it. This wasn't an accidental kiss. I let it happened. I was the world's worst girlfriend for letting myself do this. Leaning against the wall, I slid down to the floor and crossed my legs. The guys were standing around, talking amongst themselves. Zack and Alex kept their distances from each other, but at least they weren't arguing or anything.

Sitting on the floor alone made me think about the possibilities that could happen if I toured with them. I was only with these guys in the elevator for such a short period of time and I kissed one of them already. After all of these incidents that happened throughout my time with these guys, I wasn't sure if I was able to handle the pressure, the stress, and the…temptations. I hated to admit the fact that I was sort of attracted to them. It wasn't a secret that they were good looking and attractive so I couldn't blame myself for having some sort of crush. It just had to avoid the "make out sessions" and stolen kisses. That was simple, right? If only I could control myself.

Hold on, what the hell was I saying? Of course I could control myself if I considered going on tour with these guys. It wasn't like they were throwing themselves on me…with the exception of Alex. He would be the only one I would worry about. Even though Zack and I kissed, it wasn't anything personal. It was all fun and games. I knew he didn't like me the same way as Alex, although I wished he did.

My heart stopped. Was something wrong with me here? Did I actually want Zack to like me? The lack of air in this elevator was probably taking a toll on my mind. I was completely oblivious to the things around me and my train of thought. There was no way that I wanted Zack to like me. No way at all. I was just losing my mind. I needed to get out of here.

A thump was heard from the opposite side of the elevator door. The guys quickly went to the door as I followed behind them. Were my prayers answered? We gathered in front of the door, anticipating for it to open. Our eyes watched as the door slowly parted.

"Is this fucking happening right now?" Alex exclaimed.

"Yeah," I managed to say.

When it was completely open, we all ran out. The guys were jumping around in happiness as I sighed in relief. My sanity was back again. No more wrong thoughts were running.

"We're saved! We're saved!" Jack exclaimed as he jumped on Rian, who fell to the ground while Zack laughed at the both of them. Alex laughed as well while I watched. My phone rang. I checked to see who it was.

Craig.

I took a deep breath before answering my phone. "Hello?"

"Good afternoon, Mariz," he greeted. "I called to let you know that you have to make your decision today. By the way, Matt told me about the elevator incident. Are you all safe now?"

"Yes, we just got out," I answered. Zack looked my way as I continued to talk. "Do I really have to make my decision today?"

"You need to make your decision today since the tour starts next week. We, the company, need your confirmation that you're going as soon as possible."

I sighed. "Okay, I'll be there soon."

"Thank you, Mariz," Craig replied before hanging up.

I placed my phone back in my pocket. To tour or not to tour? I was torn. I wanted to tour so I could travel around the country, escaping this messed up town. At the same time, I didn't want to tour for obvious reasons. I didn't know what to do.

"Hey? Are you alright?" I looked up. Zack gave me a small smile. "You look stressed."

I shrugged. "I'm just in a dilemma."

"Touring?" I nodded. "Well, you choose whatever is best for you," he advised. "Hold on, if you're not going on tour with us, does that mean you quit being our assistant?" he asked with curiosity.

"Yeah," I answered. "You guys get a new assistant."

His eyes widened. "Then you should go on tour with us!" The rest of the guys walked towards us. Zack turned to them. "Convince her to go on tour," he ordered the guys.

Alex furrowed his eyebrows. "Why? So you can make out with her again?"

"No, you asshole. We'll get a new assistant if she doesn't go on tour," he clarified. "She won't be our assistant anymore."

The guys were in shock. I took a deep breath, knowing what was about to come.

"Mariz! Go on tour with us!" Jack whined, clinging onto me like a child. "Who will I annoy when you're not there?"

Alex followed his lead as he wrapped his body around my legs. "I'm gonna be mad if you don't come with us. I'll be lonely."

Rian rolled his eyes. "For Pete's sakes guys, get off of her," he pulled Jack away from me while Zack easy shoved Alex from my legs. "Just let her decide."

I sighed as I looked at the clock. I needed to leave. "Okay guys," I announced. "I'll be going to Craig's office now." I waved at the guys as I walked away. They stared at me, standing still like statues. Thinking about it, this could be the last time I was going to see these guys if I decided not to go on tour. I wouldn't see them at all after today.

I stopped and turned around, walking back to them. "Um…just in case if I decide not to…you know, it was nice working with you guys," I told them. "Many interesting moments to make this job interesting for me," I paused. "Yeah, I just want to say that."

The guys stared in reply.

I nodded. "Okay then," I spoke awkwardly. "I'll be leaving now." I started to walk off. Well, this was depressing. I never expected that kind of reaction. They were just staring at me.

I entered my car and started the engine. Without looking back, I drove off to Craig's office.

I made my decision.


End file.
